Rave Mobile Safety Promotes Compliance with Marcus Alert System

  • By Matt Jones
  • March 17, 2021

Critical communication and collaboration technology platform Rave Mobile Safety has announced that it supports compliance with Virginia’s Marcus Alert System.

The Marcus Alert was established to provide mental health awareness resources and community understanding services around the state, and it was named for a man shot and killed by a police officer while experiencing a mental health episode in 2018. In an effort to promote a behavioral health response to individuals experiencing a crisis, the law requires Virginia localities to set up a voluntary database of mental health information and emergency contact information to be provided to 9-1-1 services during such an event. The localities must establish the database by July 1.

Many Virginia communities are using the Rave 911 Suite and Smart911 solutions to comply with the new legislation. These services allow individuals who call 9-1-1 to provide the call taker and first responders with important information about the subject’s mental health history using a Safety and Vulnerable Needs Profile before authorities arrive. The Smart911 Safety Profile displays on the 9-1-1 screen and provides 9-1-1 call takers with information like addresses, photos, emergency contact information, mental health and medical information, and more. The Rave 911 Suite, meanwhile, gives call centers access to features like live video streaming, caller location data, chat functions, and call notes.

“As increased mental health awareness continues to drive conversations about how we can best respond to those in mental health crisis, it’s more important than ever that our 9-1-1 call takers and first responders have information at their fingertips that enables informed, appropriate response,” said Rave CEO Todd Piett. “The Marcus Alert System is a huge step toward ensuring that happens in the Commonwealth of Virginia. We are proud to provide counties with the technology they need to both meet the requirements of the law, and transform the way they respond to mental health crises in a way that benefits first responders and their communities alike.”

The Rave 911 Suite offers more complete situational awareness using Smart911 data, photos, live video streaming, and secure integration with Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems. The data from Smart911 works across all phones, including cell phones and landlines, and also provides physical addresses thanks to the Automatic Location Identification (ALI) database. The Smart911 data can be provided to everyone from 9-1-1 to first responders to public health and emergency management teams. Parents and caretakers can create profiles for children or other individuals in their care and attach that profile to their own phone number.

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, in June 2020, about 40% of U.S. adults reported facing mental health or substance abuse issues.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Security and Life Safety. He can be reached at [email protected]

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